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On the cover: Snowball, the first polar bear
ever born and reared in New York City, was
born at the Zoo on November 14. 1974.
The Report of the President
and the General Director
The New York Zoological Society is a
privately endowed, non-profit insti-
tution, but contemporary fiscal
pressures cause us to think in
business-like terms. Never have the
products and services of the Society
been more in demand than in 1974
and 1975. The Society operates the
Bronx Zoo and the New York
Aquarium, and our products include
a unique program of environmental
education and meaningful recrea-
tion. We also do basic research in
the marine sciences and in wildlife
conservation, and we make possible
the development of new wildlife
refuges and national parks around
the world.
The propagation of the last
examples of a vanishing species, the
delight millions of city dwellers
experience when they come a little
closer to nature, and the acquisition
of new insights into the natural world
are among the Society's services.
Most people associate these activities
with the Zoo and the Aquarium. How-
ever, the Zoological Society's services
also include the work of its labora-
tories of marine sciences, where
biologists are defining the nature of
basic genetic mechanisms, the inter-
relationships of the sea's life-support
systems, and monitoring the quality
of New York City's waters.
We serve the cause of zoological
conservation as one of the world's
most important international wildlife
conservation organizations. The
Society operated, during 1974 and
1975, sixty conservation programs in
the field, continuing a tradition of
service which began in 1895. From
Uganda to Patagonia, Nepal to New
Guinea, Kenya to Florida, Zoological
Society scientists work to clarify the
relationship between disappearing
animal species and their fragile habi-
tats. In each project we substitute a
philosophy of long-term benefits for
one of immediate exploitation. It is
urgent for us to try to answer the
question, "How can man and animal
live together?"
The success of this conservation
work depends, in part, upon public
education and human interest in
wild animals and wild places. For the
public, the Society maintains the
most remarkable resource of any
cultural institution, huge collections
of living wild animals. These col-
lections reproduce so successfully
that the Society has become, in the
past two years, a net-producer of
wildlife: giraffes and hoopoes, polar
bears and cobras, gorillas and
sea horses and sharks. Education in
the classroom, which is expensive, is
an inadequate method for the pre-
sentation of our special curriculum,
and we are beginning to see better
ways of fulfilling our role as an inter-
face between wild animals and urban
man.
Visitor involvement is one of the
better methods. At the Zoo and the
Aquarium, children ride camels and
ponies, and they play with domestic
animals. Our visitors experience
nocturnal animal life in the World of
Darkness, and are allowed to enter
living habitat groups in the World of
Birds.
To maintain the quality of our
products and services, greater self-
sufficiency became essential for the
Society in 1974 and 1975. In response
to the financial situation of New
York City, the Society effected major
economies, successfully sought in-
creased private support, and estab-
lished new directions for future
programs. Although the Zoo and the
Aquarium are revenue-producing
institutions for New York City, muni-
cipal aid has been drastically reduced
— with little regard for the vulner-
able nature of our living collections.
Fortunately, new ideas about
animal care and new zoo technology
allow us to respond not only to
animal needs, but also to make wild
animal exhibits more natural and
more stimulating to the visitor. This
contributes to our effectiveness and
to our self-sufficiency. It has
become essential that the Zoological
Society find ways to adapt to the
"marketplace."
This is the marketplace which
solves the complex problems of pro-
duction and allocation for human
society, but which has been unsuc-
cessful at managing wilderness and
wildlife. To support our work, the
Society has become a more eco-
nomic creature. Generous annual
support and expanded endowment
will provide the foundation for our
programs, but each program will be
made to bear a larger proportion of
its own costs.
Howard Phipps, Jr.
President
William G. Conway
General Director
2
Report of Trustee Events
Laurance S. Rockefeller
In June of 1975, the Board of Trustees
of the New York Zoological Society
elected Howard Phipps, Jr., President
of the Board. His predecessor was
Robert G. Goelet, President from
January, 1971, to June, 1975.
Laurance S. Rockefeller, President
from January, 1969, to January,
1971, served as Chairman of the
Board of Trustees until November,
1975, when he was elected Honorary
Chairman. Both Mr. Rockefeller and
Mr. Goelet remain active Trustees.
Two Trustees, Peter Grimm and
Warren Kinney, resigned during
1974. Their seats were filled by the
election in 1974 of Mrs. William
Ward Foshay and Nixon Griffis. In
1975 the Board did not change.
From time to time the Trustees
elect persons interested in the Society
to serve on the Board of Advisors. In
1974, after their resignation as Trus-
tees, Messrs. Grimm and Kinney
were elected Advisors, and in 1975,
Jean Bodfish Leff, Richard T.
Perkin. Mrs. A.H. Stevenson, and
Alice Tully were elected Advisors. In
1975, the Trustees were saddened by
the death of Mr. Kinney, who had
served the Society for forty years as a
Trustee and member of the Board of
Advisors.
On December 31, 1975, the Board of
Trustees and committees of the Society
were as listed on the following page.
3
Board of Trustees, at
December 31, 1975
Officers
Laurance S. Rockefeller
Honorary Chairman
Howard Phipps, Jr.
President, and Chairman.
Executive Committee
Henry Clay Frick, II
Vice President
George F. Baker, Jr.
Vice President
Charles W. Nichols. Jr.
Vice President
John Pierrepont
Treasurer
Augustus G. Paine
Secretary
Walter A. Lerchenfeld
Assistant Treasurer
Harold C. Palmer
Assistant Secretary
Trustees
Alexander Aldrich
Mrs. Vincent Astor
George F. Baker, Jr.
Guy F. Cary
Mrs. William Ward Foshay
Henry Clay Frick, II
Peter R. Gimbel
Robert G. Goelet
Nixon Griffis
Gilbert M. Grosvenor
August Heckscher
John N. Irwin, II
Frank Y. Larkin
John Macomber
Anthony D. Marshall
Otto Marx, Jr.
Peter Matthiessen
Frederick A. Melhado
G. W. Merck
Charles W. Nichols. Jr.
Augustus G. Paine
Howard Phipps, Jr.
John H. Phipps
John Pierrepont
Mrs. John L. Procope, Jr.
Eben W. Pyne
Laurance S. Rockefeller
John T. Sargent
David T. Schiff
John M. Schiff
Chauncev D. Stillman
Mrs. Samuel M. Symonds
Joseph A. Thomas
Landon K. Thorne, Jr.
Lila Acheson Wallace
Robert Winthrop
Ex Officio Trustees
The Mayor, City of New York
Administrator of Parks,
Recreation, and Cultural Affairs,
City of New York
President, Borough of the Bronx
President, Borough of Brooklyn
Standing Committees
Executive Committee
Howard Phipps. Jr.. Chairman
Mrs. Vincent Astor
George F. Baker, Jr.
Henry Clay Frick, II
John N. Irwin, II
Frank Y. Larkin
Charles W. Nichols. Jr.
Laurance S. Rockefeller
John T. Sargent
David T. Schiff
Augustus G. Paine, ex officio
John Pierrepont, ex officio
Auditing Committee
Augustus G. Paine. Chairman
George F. Baker, Jr.
Howard Phipps, Jr.. ex officio
Business Operations Committee
John Macomber, Chairman
Frank Y. Larkin
Howard Phipps, Jr., ex officio
Finance Committee
David T. Schiff, Chairman
George F. Baker, Jr.
Guy F. Cary
Howard Phipps, Jr.. ex officio
John Pierrepont, ex officio
Nominating Committee
Augustus G. Paine, Chairman
Alexander Aldrich
David T. Schiff
Howard Phipps, Jr., ex officio
Working Committees
Aquarium and Osborn Laboratories
Planning Committee
George F. Baker. Jr., Chairman
Henry Clay Frick, II
Peter R. Gimbel
Howard Phipps, Jr.
John Pierrepont
Budget and Salary Committee
David T. Schiff. Chairman
William G. Conway
Charles W. Nichols, Jr.
James A. Oliver
John Pierrepont
Howard Phipps, Jr., ex officio
Conservation Commun e
Charles W. Nichols, Jr., Chairman
Mrs. Vincent Astor
George F. Baker, Jr.
Donald F. Bruning
James Walter Carter
William G. Conway
Allerton Cushman
James G. Doherty
Mrs. William Ward Foshay
Henry Clay Frick, II
Robert G. Goelet
Gilbert M. Grosvenor
F. Wayne King
Frank Y. Larkin
Lars-Eric Lindblad
Peter Matthiessen
John Mayer
G. W. Merck
Barclay Morrison
James A. Oliver
Peter S. Paine
Roger S. Payne
Howard Phipps, Jr.
John H. Phipps
George D. Ruggieri
George B. Schaller
Chauncev D. Stillman
Thomas T. Struhsaker
Joseph A. Thomas
Landon K. Thorne. Jr.
Development Committee
John Pierrepont. Chairman
Mrs. Vincent Astor, Vice Chairman
George F. Baker, Jr.
Guy F. Cary
Mrs. William Ward Foshay
Nixon Griffis
John Macomber
Frederick A. Melhado
John T. Sargent
Mrs. Samuel M. Symonds
Howard Phipps. Jr., ex officio
Editorial Committee
John T. Sargent, Chairman
William G. Conw ay
Gilbert M. Grosvenor
August Heckscher
F. Wayne King
Peter Matthiessen
James A. Oliver
George D. Ruggieri
George B. Schaller
Eugene J. Walter, Jr.
Education Committee
Mrs. Samuel M. Symonds, Chairman
Mrs. Edwin Cohen
William G. Conway
Nixon Griffis
Karen Hensel
Richard Lattis
Thomas Leahy-
Jean Bodfish Leff
John McKew
James A. Oliver
Howard Phipps, Jr.
David A. Prager
Mrs. John L. Procope. Jr.
Edward Russell
John T. Sargent
James W. Waddick
Jenny Bell Whyte
Trustee Committee for
Friends of the Zoo
David T. Schiff, Chairman
Frederick A. Melhado
Mrs. Samuel M. Symonds
Board of Advisors
Robert E. Blum
John Elliott
Robert I. Gannon
Peter Grimm
Jean Bodfish Leff
David Hunter McAlpin
Richard T. Perkin
Mrs. A. H. Stevenson
Alice Tully
Friends of the Zoo
Jean Bodfish Leff, Chairman
Women's Committee
Mrs. Vincent Astor. Honorary Chairman
Mrs. A. H. Stevenson, Chairman
4
The Treasurer's Report
The following figures represent income and In
expenses of current operating activities and
are not clearly identifiable in the certified
statements which follow. The 1975 statements
are prepared in accordance with the American
Institute of Certified Public Accountants
industry audit guide. Audits of Voluntary
Health and Welfare Organizations. Under the
terms of this guide all transactions including
capital, restricted and endowment activities
are reported.
the fiscal year ended December 31,
1974, the New York Zoological So-
ciety's expenses increased by fourteen
percent over the prior year, and
$9,476,914 was expended for operat-
ing purposes. The Society's income
in 1974 was $8,634,800. The deficit,
then, in 1974, amounted to $842,114.
In New York City's fiscal year
1975-76, New York City, which had
traditionally contributed approxi-
mately thirty percent of our annual
operating expenses, cut back by
$880,000. And New York State,
through its Council on the Arts, re-
duced its grant from $750,000 to
$640,000. The impact of these de-
creases will not be reflected until
the 1976 Annual Report.
Although we have reported deficits
since 1958, we finally reached, in
1975, the point where we did not
dare to reduce the Society's relatively
small reserves any further. The
Trustees regard what remains as a
trust fund to ensure the proper care
of all our living collections and en-
vironments for those animals which
can no longer survive in the wild.
In 1975, the Society was com-
pelled, therefore, to take action, and
I am delighted to report that in 1975
Society income totaled $9,468,583,
and expenses $9,478,979, reducing
our deficit to $10,396. This was
down $831,718 from the deficit of
1974. This was accomplished by in-
stituting severe cost-cutting measures,
including the elimination of fifty-five
jobs, eighteen percent of our work
force as of January 1, 1975.
The positive and understanding
spirit in which the staff accepted
these reductions was matched only
by the generous spirit of our mem-
bers and of other donors who re-
sponded to the Society's needs. Un-
restricted contributions rose by 215
percent from 1974 to 1975. In 1974,
they totaled $301,511 and in 1975
$948,875. Total contributions, for
restricted and unrestricted purposes,
rose by twenty-four percent from
1974 to 1975. In 1974, total contri-
butions were $1,443,893, and in
1975, $1,790,700. In particular. I
would like to acknowledge, on behalf
of the President and the Trustees,
the generosity of The Vincent Astor
Foundation, which voted in 1975 to
grant to the Society very substantial
additional support for the creation of
our major new exhibit, "Wild Asia."
I would also like to acknowledge the
extraordinary generosity of Lila
Acheson Wallace and Nixon Griffis.
A key element in the Society's
fiscal plan was the establishment of
a Trustee Development Committee.
The Committee's work resulted, in
late 1975, in the establishment of a
development office and the reorgani-
zation of the membership program.
Also important has been the fund-
raising work of the Women's Com-
mittee, under the chairmanship of
Mrs. Charles W. Nichols, Jr. and
Mrs. Landon K. Thome, Jr., until
September, 1975, and currently
under Mrs. A. H. Stevenson.
John Pierrepont
Treasurer
5
The New York Zoological Park
A breeding group of Mongolian wild horses is
maintained at the Zoo. This species has
recently become extinct in nature, but two
foals were born in 1975 in the Bronx. These
horses were seen by the 1,828,329 visitors to
the Bronx Zoo in 1974. In 1975. the Zoo s
attendance was 1,795.170.
A zoo is a connection between urban
man and wildlife. As such, it must
accommodate the broadly differing
needs of the animals in its collection
and the people who come to see
them. As the Bronx Zoo continues to
accomplish this difficult task, it sig-
nificantly advances the cause of en-
vironmental conservation.
Nothing illustrates this point
more vividly than the way animals
and visitors benefit from Zoo exhibits
which simulate living habitats. Exhi-
bits that reflect natural surroundings
encourage animals to perform their
full range of behavior, especially if
they live in social groups of natural
size and composition. This is healthy
for the animals and makes the Zoo
more exciting for visitors because it
is like seeing animals in the wild.
What does this mean for conserva-
tion? When animals are comfortable
and live in natural groups, they are
more likely to breed and rear young.
At the Zoo, they also have the impor-
tant advantage of an intensive pro-
gram of veterinary and preventive
medicine. The captive propagation of
wild animals, especially rare species,
is a major responsibility of the Bronx
Zoo, and during 1974 and 1975, the
animals in the Zoo's collection pro-
duced 1,402 young.
For the visitor, seeing animals
courting, rearing young, and other-
wise behaving as they do in the wild
is a unique experience in environ-
mental education, augmented at the
Zoo by interpretive graphics that
simplify the complicated workings of
nature. No textbook or lecture could
match the lessons available to visitors
to the Lila Acheson Wallace World
6
of Birds in 1974 and 1975. In one
habitat after another, rare and beau-
tiful birds reared their chicks only
a few feet from the visiting public.
The efforts of the staff to bring the
visitor closer to animals and nature
resulted in several major under-
takings, such as the opening of the
Rare Animals Range Exhibits. This
range is the home of Pere David
deer. European bison, and Mongo-
lian wild horses. All these species are
extinct in the wild, and all have re-
produced in the new exhibits. The
first Mongolian wild horse born at
the Zoo since 1929. in fact, arrived
almost exactly a year after the range
was opened — and a second colt was
born a month later.
In the Aquatic Birds Building, the
popular sea cliffs exhibit was made
even more realistic in 1974, when its
surface was naturalistically recast.
Not only did it look more like a sea
cliff to visitors, but apparently to the
puffins and murres that inhabit the
exhibit as well. In 1974, two tufted
puffins and a North Pacific murre,
the first murre ever bred in captivity,
hatched in nesting cavities that had
been built into the simulated rock. A
third puffin hatched in 1975.
Not all the exhibit improvements
were as evident as those made to the
sea cliffs, but many were just as suc-
cessful in terms of propagation. Im-
proving the breeding facilities of the
polar bears had exciting results in
November, 1974: the first polar bear
cub ever successfully reared at the
Zoo. The cub, "Snowball," became
an instant favorite of the public.
In 1974. trees equipped with cork
nesting hollows were provided in the
Friends of the Zoo volunteers have been train-
ed by the Zoo staff' to bolster the Zoo's
education efforts. The volunteers escort tours
around the Zoo and carry on an outreach
program.
7
World of Birds for the concave-
casqued horribills. These rare birds
are threatened in the wild by defores-
tation of their habitat. By 1975, the
hornbills had begun nesting activity,
raising hopes that the Zoo may be
able to breed these facinating crea-
tures, just as the Zoo has bred
hundreds of other species.
In addition to these exhibits, the
Bronx Zoo conducts propagation
programs which the visitor does not
see. For example, a breeding com-
pound for cranes was built in 1974
and 1975 in a secluded area behind
the World of Birds. The Zoo also has
established a breeding station in
Florida for the endangered and
beautiful radiated tortoise, a native
of Madagascar. More than a score of
the tortoises have been collected and
placed in the compound.
The Zoo has been making out-
standing progress breeding another
endangered Chelonian, the bog tur-
tle of eastern North America. It is
found only in a few scattered sites
along the Atlantic seaboard, some of
which are not too distant from the
Zoo. As a result of an intensive
breeding program, the bog turtle was
propagated at the Zoo in 1975 for
the third consecutive year. In addi-
tion to the captive breeding program,
the Zoo is working with the New
York State Department of Environ-
mental Conservation to preserve the
unique type of wetlands the bog tur-
tle requires as a habitat.
A major commitment to captive
propagation was made in 1975, when
a center for breeding rare species
was established on St. Catherine's
Island, off the Georgia coast. The
new center is dedicated to insuring
that future generations will be able
to see some of the spectacular wild
creatures whose future is now threa-
tened. It will serve both as a propa-
gation and research center. The first
animals sent to St. Catherine's Island
were gemsbok, sable antelope, and
addax. Other institutions and federal
agencies are cooperating in the
effort, for the threat to wildlife is so
overpowering that it can be coun-
tered only through the united efforts
of many conservation agencies and
organizations.
Like the Zoo's conservation pro-
grams, its educational efforts are di-
verse. They meet the needs of a
broad spectrum of people, from pre-
schoolers to senior citizens. Also like
its conservation programs, the Zoo's
educational activities extend beyond
its fences. Teachers participate in
environmental workshops taught at
the Zoo by staff instructors and
Friends of the Zoo volunteers.
And, since not everyone can visit the
Zoo, the Friends of the Zoo bring
animals to hospitals, day care cen-
ters, schools, and similar institutions.
These visits are part of the Zoo's
outreach program , started in
August, 1974. By the end of 1975,
the program had reached 282 insti-
tutions in the metropolitan area.
The Friends also conducted tours
at the Zoo for 20.000 youngsters in
each of the years covered by this re-
port. But these youngsters were only
a small portion of the schoolchildren
who benefited from the Zoo's facili-
ties. A total of 400,000 members of
school groups each year visited the
Zoo and the New York Aquarium.
A Gathering of Animals, a history of the first
seventy- five years of the Society, was published
by Harper & Row in 1974. The author is
William Bridges, Curator of Publications
Emeritus, whose career spanned some of the
Society's most illustrious years.
8
The New York Aquarium
A youngster learns for himself that the spine
of a horseshoe crab is not dangerous at the
Aquarium's "please touch'' exhibit. This child
was one of 493,784 persons who visited the
New York Aquarium in 1974. In 1975. at-
tendance was 477.403.
The New York Aquarium is a window
on the hydrosphere, which covers al-
most three-quarters of the Earth's
surface. The water, although hostile
to man as a habitat, is populated
with a fantastic number of living
organisms. Every Aquarium visitor
has the opportunity to learn as he or
she observes the creatures of the
water in the Aquarium's collection.
There are both structured and un-
structured programs available. Some
of the most exciting are provided at
the Sea Dome, opened in 1974
through the support of the New York
Zoological Society's Women's Com-
mittee. The Sea Dome is a geodesic
building in which visitors see audio-
visual programs about aquatic ani-
mals. During 1975. the Sea Dome's
first full year of operation, more than
400.000 visitors went away with new
insights into the links between living
things.
Programs in the Sea Dome were
an important part of a major educa-
tional project at the Aquarium in
1975. the celebration of World
Whale Day. Held in April with the
cooperation of several other conser-
vation organizations. Whale Day
brought together scientists, artists,
and conservationists in behalf of pre-
serving the world's cetaceans. Whale
Day combined the special resources
available at the Aquarium: partici-
pants were informed and entertained
by audio-visual presentations in the
Sea Dome and a demonstration of
cetacean behavior by the Aquarium's
white whales and bottle-nosed
dolphin.
During the past two years the
Aquarium has placed increasing im-
9
portance on the exhibition of native
aquatic life. Four new exhibits of
freshwater animals of the north-
eastern United States were opened in
1974, and in 1975 work began on an
exhibition of the marine life of
northeastern coastal waters. In addi-
tion, two young white whales collect-
ed in the waters of Hudson Bay
were brought to the Aquarium in
July, 1975, to be added to a breeding
group of this species.
A prime example of the resource-
fulness of the staff of the Aquarium
is an exhibit that opened in 1975,
using swordtails and platyfish,
common home aquarium fishes, to
explain some marvels of genetics.
The exhibit displays drab-colored
parents of the two species, and their
hybrid offspring, which are brilliant
red. Graphics explain that the genes
producing red color are masked in
the swordtail, but when combined
with modifying genes in the platyfish
result in red-colored young.
This exhibit results directly from
research on genetics at the Osborn
Laboratories of Marine Sciences,
located adjacent to the Aquarium.
The New York Aquarium is unique
in that its staff has immediate access
to the scientific resources available at
the Osborn Laboratories.
This is one of the Aquarium 's collection of
four white, beluga, whales.
10
The Osborn Laboratories of
Marine Sciences
Living things are related in ways that
are still largely beyond human com-
prehension. These relationships can
be fairly easily observed in inter-
actions between prey and predator,
and scientists at the Osborn Labora-
tories of Marine Sciences are finding
that relationships exist on a molecu-
lar level as well. The Osborn Labora-
tories are concerned with ecology at
its most fundamental.
Research at the Laboratories has
implications for understanding the
problems of water pollution, and also
for utilizing the produce of the seas
as food. The Laboratories' research
on fish disease is especially signi-
ficant at a time when marine fisher-
ies and fish farming are being con-
sidered as ways to combat human
malnutrition. Fishes, like other
animals, are susceptible to disease of
a viral, bacterial, fungal, and para-
sitic nature. The understanding of
such disease has significance not only
for mariculture, but also for human
medicine. The study of mariculture is
advanced by the work of the Labora-
tories in genetics: techniques are
needed for developing stocks of fish
that resist disease and grow quickly.
The fish genetics laboratory is
unique. Records have been kept on
more than sixty generations of ex-
perimental fishes, and genetic studies
of platyfish and swordtails in the
laboratory have shown that mela-
noma—pigment cell cancer— of a
type closely resembling that in hu-
mans, is transmitted genetically.
During 1974 and 1975, the labora-
tory concentrated on genetic control
of growth in fishes, specifically on
inherited differences in hormone pro-
duction. What has been learned is
basic to understanding these pro-
cesses in all vertebrates.
For several years, Osborn re-
searchers have been investigating the
chemical nature of the cement with
which barnacles adhere to rocks, and
to the hulls of ships. Fouling by
barnacles slows ships and results in
tremendous additional fuel costs. If
the chemical structure of the cement
can be defined, scientists will be able
to develop a means of preventing
barnacles from sticking.
Osborn scientists are also studying
ocean pollutants resulting from
human activity ashore; these include
a vast number of viruses present in
sewage. Osborn's virology and tissue
culture laboratory is investigating
whether such viruses can grow and
reproduce in the cells of marine
organisms. This laboratory was the
first to establish lines of cell cultures
from several marine creatures, such
as sea urchins, clams, sea stars,
fishes, and mammals. The ability of
the laboratory to maintain cultures
of cells from marine organisms has
also made it possible to test the
effects of carcinogens on the
relatively simple tissues of mollusks
and echinoderms. Osborn scientists
are convinced that once cancers in
lower animals are understood, new
insights will arise into malignancy in
more complex organisms, including
humans.
One of the most alarming groups
of pollutants in the sea is the heavy
metals, highly toxic substances which
can be taken up by microscopic
organisms at the beginning of the
food chain. Heavy metals quickly
11
work their way up to higher
organisms, such as the fish man eats.
Among the micro-animals which
absorb heavy metals is a group of
protozoans called the tintinnids,
which incorporate the toxic
substances into their sticky outer
armor. Osborn's marine chemistry
and pollution laboratory was the first
to grow tintinnids under controlled
conditions. This has enabled
researchers there to examine the
step-by-step build up of materials in
the tintinnid shell.
Many of the chemicals found in
marine organisms are anti-bacterial,
anti-fungal, and anti-viral. Some
inhibit cancer cells under laboratory
conditions. For example, in 1975,
scientists at Osborn's bio-organic
chemistry laboratory showed that an
extract from a West Indian sponge
caused general destruction of cancer
cells under test tube conditions. The
search for drugs from the sea has led
another group of researchers, in
Osborn's invertebrate zoology and
embryology laboratories, to examine
the role biochemicals play in the
development of a wide variety of
marine creatures. This has provided
new information on the embryonic
development of lower animals, which
is paralleled by that of the human
embryo in its earliest stages. As with
most other activities at the Osborn
Laboratories, studies of invertebrate
animals have contributed to the
quality of exhibits at the New York
Aquarium. The expertise of Osborn
scientists is to a large degree
responsible for the success of the
Aquarium in maintaining its
invertebrate collections.
Upper left, a photomicrograph of the shell of
a marine protozoan, Stenosemella ventricosa.
Lower left, a dinoflagellate . one of the many
forms of micro- plants in the sea.
Upper right, a flowering marine cilliate . a
single-celled creature found in zooplankton.
Lower right, a portion of a shell of a marine
cilliate.
12
Conservation in the Field
The New York Zoological Society is
linked in the minds of most people
to the Bronx Zoo. the New York
Aquarium, or perhaps both. Visitors
to the Zoo or Aquarium are usually
unaware of the vast scope of the
Society's work in field research and
wildlife conservation that spans the
globe.
The Society's efforts in behalf of
wildlife conservation began even
before the Zoo was opened. This past
year, in fact, marked the eightieth
anniversary of the Society's involve-
ment in conservation. A measure of
the Society's success is that it has
been responsible for or contributed
to the establishment of thirty-four
national parks and preserves in
various parts of the world.
Today the New York Zoological
Society operates one of the most
extensive non-government programs
of conservation and field research
anywhere in the world. The Society
focuses on research into the life
histories and ecology of animals in
order to provide the scientific data
on which conservation efforts can be
based.
The results of this approach have
been obvious in the work of the
Society's Center for Field Biology
and Conservation, headquartered at
the Bronx Zoo. For example, George
Schaller completed in 1975 a
long-term study of the ecology and
behavior of the unique animals of
the Himalayan Mountains and
Hindu Kush. He found that most of
the large mammals, such as the
brown bear and markhor, have nearly
vanished from most of the region.
One result of his field studies was
the creation of a new national park
in Pakistan to safeguard important
Himalayan species in that country.
Roger Payne of the Center has
spent much of his time in the past
two years studying the rare southern
right whales which breed in the
Golfo San Jose, a vast bay on the
Patagonian coast of Argentina. He
has learned much about how the
whales breed, feed, and interact with
other marine mammals of the region.
Dr. Payne has obtained strong evi-
dence that the breaching — jumping —
of whales at sea serves a communi-
cative function. This seems parti-
cularly true during storms, when the
surge of waves obscures the whales'
normal vocalizations. Dr. Payne's
work has become a focal point of the
campaign in the United States to
save the great whales. His research
was the subject of a major television
network special aired in 1975. And,
as a result of his efforts, the Golfo
San Jose has been declared a pre-
serve for marine animals.
The research conducted by the
Center is complemented by other
important projects carried on under
the guidance of the Society's
Conservation Committee. During
each of the past two years the Society
sponsored twenty-eight conservation
and field research projects,
supported by its restricted funds,
foundations, individual donors, and
contracts with various governments.
Society staff members are active
with a wide variety of other conserva-
tion organizations. Staff members
serve on the Survival Service Com-
mission of the International Union
for the Conservation of Nature and
13
Conservation and Research Projects
1974-1975
Hawaii
Green sea turtle survey — Balazs
12
Bermuda
Cahow conservation — Wingate
2
Alaska
Polar bear radio-telemetry — Haugstad
13
USA
Status survey of rare crayfish and shrimp — Bouchard
Canada
14
SE USA
Morphological variations of alligators — Ross
3
Washington
Lithium chloride aversion conditioning of coyotes — Garcia
15
Florida
Analysis of weather variables w hich affect manatees —
and Gustavson
Christman
4
Alberta
Grizzly bear ecology — Jonkel
Georgia
Montana
South Carolin
a
5
Wyoming
Raptor nesting site survey — Craighead
16
Georgia
Loggerhead sea turtle tagging program — Williams
6
Wyoming
Support for Jackson Hole Biological Research Station
17
Florida
American alligator behavior — Garrick
Effects of prescribed burning — McGee
18
Florida
Ecology of American crocodile and American alligator —
Analysis of coyote vocalizations — Lehner
Lang
Snake River beaver ecology — Collins
19
Florida
Madagascar radiated tortoise propagation — Auffenberg
7
Alberta
Causes of whooping crane decline — Goodwin
20
Bahamas
Green turtle propagation — Bahamas National Trust
Texas
21
West Indies
Ecology of rock iguanas — Auffenberg
8
Connecticut
Sperm whales and early American whaling — Shuster
22
Jamaica
Ecology of American crocodile — Garrick
Massachusetts
Hispaniola
New York
Panama
9
Connecticut
Long Island Sound osprey nesting survey — Spitzer and
23
Costa Rica
Contribution toward purchase of Monte Verde Cloud
Poole
Forest Preserve
Massachusetts
24
Costa Rica
Support for development of Tortuguero National Park
New York
25
Columbia
Caiman and turtle survey in Colombian Amazon — Foot<
Rhode island
26
Colombia
Survey of wild primate populations — Struhsaker
10
New York
Graduate fellowship in conservation studies — Tarak
27
Venezuela
South American otter survey — Duplaix-Hall
(Argentina)
Surinam
11
Connecticut
Bog turtle survey — Behler
Brazil
New York
28
Trinidad
Asa Wright Nature Center newsletter distribution
Pennsylvania
29
Venezuela
Preliminary survey of deer and jaguar — Schaller
49
Pakistan
Ecology of Himalayan ungulates and predators — Schaller
Surinam
Nepal
Brazil
50
India
Support for Dudwa Wildlife Sanctuary — Singh
Argentina
51
Nepal
Ecology of Indian rhinoceros — Laurie
30
Argentina
Conservation travel funds — Tarak
India
31
Argentina
Ecology and behavior of right whale — Payne
52
India
Survey of gharial populations — Whitaker
12
Cameroon
Survey for rain forest national parks — Gartlan
S3
India
Siberian crane ecology and behavior — Sauey and Spitzer
33
Cameroon
Status of lowland gorilla population — Webb
54
India
Man and monitor lizard interaction — Auffenberg
U
South Africa
Slender-snouted and dwarf crocodile captive propagation —
Pooley
55
Malaysia
Bangladesh
Crocodile conservation program — Auffenberg
35
Uganda
Ecology of Kibale Forest primates — Struhsaker
56
Laos
Wild cattle survey — Neese
31
Kenya
Ecology of Tana River mangabey — Homewood
57
Thailand
Wild animal export survey by Thai university students
37
Kema
Behavior and ecology of Tana River red colobus — Marsh
58
Thailand
Ecology of wild ungulates — Ngampongsai
38
Kema
Tana River and Lamu district elephant ecology — Allaway
59
Malaysia
Ecology of black-handed gibbon — Gittins
V)
Kenya
Establishment of Amboseli National Park
60
Malaysia
Comparative biology of rain forest pheasants — Davison
«0
Kenya
Ecological monitoring of Amboseli ecosystem — Western
61
Malaysia
Batagur turtle ecology and conservation — Moll
n
Tanzania
Radio-telemetry studies of Serengeti wildlife — Serengeti
62
Indonesia
Support for Hilmi Oesman Research Station. Kalimantan
Research Institute
63
Indonesia
Non-human primate survey in East Kalimantan —
13
Tanzania
Serengeti Institute discretionary fund — Mcharo
Rodman
13
Tanzania
Ecology and behavior of Serengeti lions — Bygott
64
Indonesia
Captive orangutan rehabilitation to the wild —
H
Tanzania
Aerial wildlife survey in Tanzania National Parks
Brindami.'ir
15
Tanzania
National Park ranger training seminars in ecological
65
Indonesia
Javan rhinoceros survey — Laurie
research
66
Papua
Survey of crocodile conservation program — Behler
it
Tanzania
Ruaha National Park elephant behavior — Barnes
New Guinea
17
Madagascar
Dry season ecology of radiated tortoises — Juvik
67
Ney% Zealand
Ecology of introduced Himalayan tahr — Schaller
»,H
Mauritius
Conservation of endangered endemic birds — Temple and
Natural Resources (I.U.C.N.), and on
its various specialty committees to
study critically endangered species.
In 1975, William G. Conway,
General Director of the Society, was
appointed to the executive board of
the I. U.C.N. He is one of only two
Americans on the board. The New
York Zoological Society is also
represented on the executive boards
of the International Council for Bird
Preservation (I.C.B.P.), the United
States Appeal of the World Wildlife
Fund, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
and Parks Natural Sciences Advisory
Committee, the Bahamas National
Trust, the Caribbean Conservation
Corporation, and several others.
In addition to sharing their time,
Society staff members share their
knowledge by participating in
conferences, delivering lectures, and
publishing in scientific journals. Mr.
Conway was the keynote speaker at
the World Wildlife Fund 1001
Nature Trust Meeting in London in
1974. Donald Bruning, Curator of
Ornithology, attended the 1974
congress of the I.C.B.P. in Australia.
F. Wayne King represented the
Society at the 1975 general assembly
of the I. U.C.N, in Zaire. James
Oliver, Director of the Aquarium,
attended the meetings of the
Bahamas National Trust in both
1974 and 1975. Jack Cecil of the
Osborn Laboratories was present at
the International Meeting on
Invertebrate Cell and Tissue Culture
in Quebec, Canada, in 1975. In
addition, dozens of scientific
publications were contributed to by
Society researchers, adding to the
body of knowledge in several
different disciplines.
The Society's population studies of the Punjab
urial sheep, an endangered species, were
completed in 1975.
16
The Society finished a three-year study of the
threatened great Indian rhinoceros in Nepal
during 1975.
17
The Staff of the
New York Zoological Society,
at December 31, 1975
William G. Conway, General Director;
F. Wayne King, Director of Conservation;
Walter Lerchenfeld, Director of Finance; John
McKew, Director of Administrative Services;
Timothy F. O'Sullivan, Deputy Director of
Administration: Anthony DeSiena, Financial
Manager; Arnold Harlem, Manager. Visitor
Services; Marie Sexton, Membership
Chairman; James W. Waddick, Curator.
Education: John Sutton, Chairman &
Associate Curator. Department of Exhibition
& Graphic Arts; Eugene J. Walter, Jr., Editor
& Curator. Publications & Public Relations;
Joan Van Haasteren, Associate Curator.
Publications & Public Relations: William
Meng, Assistant Curator. Photographic
Services: Walter Auffenberg, S. David
McKelvey, Federico Medem, David Western,
Conservation Fellows; Gregory Long,
Consultant. Development ; Laurie Staub,
Development Associate
The New York Zoological Park
William G. Conway, Director: Charles B.
Driscoll, Director of Operations; F. Wayne
King, Director of Zoology & Curator.
Herpetology; Joseph Bell, Deputy Director of
Zoology and Chairman & Curator.
Ornithology; Donald F. Bruning, Curator.
Ornithology: James G. Doherty, Curator.
Mammalogy: John L. Behler, Associate Curator.
Herpetology; Richard Lartis, Assistant
Curator. Education; Barbara Worcester,
Coordinator of Volunteer Services; William
Bridges, Curator of Publications Emeritus;
Grace Davall, Curator Emeritus; Roland
Lindemann, Consultant. Mammal Manage-
ment; D. Michelle Irwin, Consultant. Early
Childhood Education; Dennis A. Brown,
Consultant. Horticulture; Jean Delacour,
Ostrom Enders, Winston Guest, Jr., Frank Y.
Larkin, William K. Macy, Jr., Charles Sivelle,
Charles D. Webster, Field Associates in
Ornithology: Joseph A. Davis, Field Associate
in Mammalogy
The New York Aquarium
James A. Oliver, Director; George D. Ruggieri,
S.J., Associate Director; William S. Flynn,
Assistant Director; Karen Hensel, Associate
Curator. Education; Louis Mowbray, Research
Associate. Field Biology
18
Animal Health
Emil P. Dolensek, Veterinarian: Consultants:
John Budinger, Pathology; Ben Sheffy,
Nutrition: Robert Byck, Pharmacology: Harold
S. Goldman, Radiology: Roy Bellhorn, Paul
Henkind, Alan Friedman, Comparative
Ophthalmology: Lucy Clausen, Parasitology:
Jay Hyman, Aquatic Mammal Medicine;
Theodore Kazimiroff, Dentistry; Henry Clay
Frick, Susan Williamson, Obstetrics &
Gynecology; Richard Lee, Internal Medicine:
Thomas Blumenfeld, Pediatrics: Jacques
Wallach, Clinical Pathology; Raymond
Napolitano, Protozoology; Alan Belsen,
Resident in Pathology
Osborn Laboratories of
Marine Sciences
George D. Ruggieri, S.J., Director &
Experimental Embryologist; Ross F. Nigrelli,
Senior Scientist; Martin F. Stempien, Jr..
Assistant to the Director & Bio-organic
Chemist: Jack T. Cecil. Virologist; Paul J.
Cheung, Microbiologist: Joginder S. Chib,
Chemist; Kenneth Gold, Marine Ecologist:
Myron Jacobs, Neuroanatomist; Klaus D.
Kallman, Fish Geneticist; Kathryn S. Pokorny,
Electron Microscopist; Eli D. Goldsmith,
Scientific Consultant; Erwin J. Ernst, Research
Associate. Estuarine & Coastal Ecology;
Martin P. Schreibman, Research Associate.
Fish Endocrinology
Center for Field Biology and
Conservation
George Schaller, Research Zoologist &
Coordinator; Donald F. Bruning. Research
Associate; Roger Payne, Thomas Struhsaker,
Research Zoologists; Leslie Garrick, Research
Fellow; Andrew Laurie, Conservation Fellow
Affiliate
Jackson Hole Biological Research Station
Oscar H. Paris, Director
Contributions of $1,000 and
over, January 1 - December 31,
1974
Allied Chemical Foundation
Mrs. Vincent Astor
The George F. Baker Trust
The Estate of Bernard D. Becker
The Frederick W. Beinecke Fund
The Bodman Foundation
Mrs. Albert C. Bostwick
Helen W. Buckner
Mr. & Mrs. Douglass Campbell
James Walter Carter
Guy F. Cary
Chase Manhattan Bank
Chemical Bank
The Clark Foundation
Mrs. Allerton Cushman
Douglas Dillon
Doubleday & Company. Inc.
The Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation,
Inc.
The Ferdinand Eberstadt Foundation
Blanche T. Enders Trust
The Charles Engelhard Foundation
Exxon Corporation
Dr. & Mrs. Henry Clay Frick, II
The Estate of Elizabeth Gamble
Paul E. Geier
Mrs. Benjamin D. Gilbert
Robert G. Goelet
Mrs. Robert W. Goelet
Sybil & William T. Golden Foundation
The Griffis Foundation, Inc.
Mr. & Mrs. Henry B. Guthrie
High Winds Fund, Inc.
Geoffrey Chambers Hughes
The Estate of Catherine C. Huntinglon
International Business Machines
The Estate of Jane Watson Irwin
John N. Irwin. II
J. I. Foundation, Inc.
Warren Kinney
F. M. Kirby Foundation. Inc.
L.A.W. Fund, Inc.
Royal Little
The Joe & Emily Lowe Foundation, Inc.
Mr. & Mrs. Hayward F. Manice
Otto Marx. Jr.
Peter Matthiessen
Maya Corporation
Mayer Family Foundation
Mr. & Mrs. John Mayer
David Hunter McAlpin
Alexander A. McDonell
Merck Family Fund
The Dunlevy Milbank Foundation, Inc.
Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New
York Foundation
Barclay Morrison
The New York Times Foundation. Inc.
Nichols Foundation. Inc.
Edward John Noble Foundation
Katharine Ordway
Augustus G. Paine
Amelia Peabody
Linda Peyton
Phipps Florida Foundation
The Pleasant Street Foundation
Project Grand Ocean
Mr. & Mrs. Eben W. Pyne
Reader's Digest Foundation
The Rembrandt Corporation
Rhode Island Corporation
Mrs. Nelson A. Rockefeller
Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Inc.
Rockefeller Center, Inc.
Scaife Family Charitable Trusts
The Scherman Foundation, Inc.
Mr. & Mrs. David T. Schiff
The Schiff Foundation
Mrs. Charles B. Scully
Audrey Sheldon
The Smith, Barney Foundation
William Wikoff Smith
The Seth Sprague Educational & Charitable
Foundation
Mrs. Roger W. Straus
Mrs. Arthur H. Sulzberger
The Symonds Foundation
Margaret C. Symonds
Martha P. & Joseph A. Thomas Foundation
The Thorne Foundation
Dr. & Mrs. Jeremy P. Waletsky
Lila Acheson Wallace
Trust Under Agreement with Robert
Winthrop for Charity
The Yorkshire Fund
Six Anonymous Gifts
19
Contributions of $1,000 and
over, January 1 - December 31,
1975
The Achelis Foundation
Mrs. Vincent Astor
The Vincent Astor Foundation
The George F. Baker Trust
The Frederick W. Beinecke Fund
Mr. & Mrs. Robert E. Blum
The Bodman Foundation
The Albert C. Bostwick Foundation
H. Clifford Brown
Helen W. Buckner
Mr. & Mrs. Douglass Campbell
Carolyn Foundation
James Walter Carter
Guy F. Cary
Celanese Corporation
Cenro Corporation
Chase Manhattan Bank
Chemical Bank
City Investing Company
The Clark Foundation
Mr. & Mrs. John T. Connor
Mrs. Allerton Cushman
Leonard & Emily Dalsemer Foundation
Harry DeJur Foundation
Douglas Dillon
The Camille & Henry Dreyfus
Foundation, Inc.
The Ferdinand Eberstadt Foundation
Blanche T. Enders Trust
Ostrom Enders
The Charles Engelhard Foundation
Exxon Corporation
Foundation for the Needs of Others
Henry Clay Frick, II
The Estate of Elizabeth Gamble
Bernard F. & Alva B. Gimbel
Foundation, Inc.
Robert G. Goelet
The Griffis Foundation, Inc.
Mrs. Lloyd P. Griscom
Mr. & Mrs. Henry B. Guthrie
Philip J. Hess
Homeland Foundation, Inc.
The Estate of Jane Watson Irwin
John N. Irwin, II
The Estate of Rebecca Isaacs
J. I. Foundation, Inc.
Esther Johnson
Henry Kast, Inc.
Irving B. Kingsford
Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. & Helen C. Kleberg
Foundation
L.A.W. Fund, Inc.
Jean Bodfish Left"
Leff Charitable Trust
Royal Little
Mrs. Hayward F. Manice
Townsend B. Martin Charitable Foundation
Otto Marx, Jr.
Cordelia Scaife May
Mr. & Mrs. John Mayer
David Hunter McAlpin
John S. Mcllhenny
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Merck Family Fund
The Charles E. Merrill Trust
The Dunlevy Milbank Foundation, Inc.
Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New
York Charitable Trust
Barclay Morrison
Lucy G. Moses
Muskiwinni Foundation
Nichols Foundation, Inc.
Edward John Noble Foundation
The Estate of Gertrude Olsen
Augustus G. Paine
The Perkin Fund
Mr. & Mrs. Howard Phipps, Jr.
Phipps Florida Foundation
John Pierrepont
The Pleasant Street Foundation
The Ponagansett Foundation, Inc.
Eben W. Pyne
Reader's Digest Foundation
The Rembrandt Corporation
Mrs. William C. Ridgeway, Jr.
Laurance S. Rockefeller
Arthur Ross
The Scherman Foundation, Inc.
David T. Schiff
John M. Schiff
The Schiff Foundation
Mrs. Charles B. Scully
Mr. & Mrs. Richard Shields
Joseph E. Shorin
Mr. & Mrs. Constantine Sidamon-Eristoff
William Wikoff Smith
The Seth Sprague Educational and
Charitable Foundation
Mrs. William E. Strahl
Mrs. Roger W. Straus
Mrs. Arthur H. Sulzberger
The Symonds Foundation
Martha P. & Joseph A. Thomas Foundation
The Thorne Foundation
The Estate of Lorraine C. Tobin
Tudor Foundation, Inc.
Alice Tully
United Industrial Corporation
Lila Acheson Wallace
Mr. & Mrs. Charles D. Webster
Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Wilson Foundation
Mrs. Robert Winthrop
Trust Under Agreement with Robert
Winthrop for Charity
Six Anonymous Gifts
20
The Benefactors of the New
York Zoological Society
Members in categories of
$1,000 and over, elected during
1974 and 1975
Mrs. Vincent Astor
George F. Baker. Jr.
William Beinecke
Robert E. Blum
Mr. tSc Mrs. Francois G. Brutsch
James Walter Carter
Guy F. Cary
Cleveland E. Dodge. Jr.
Doris Duke
Mrs. William Ward Foshay
Henry Clay Frick. II
Robert G. Goelet
Nixon Griffis
David H. Heyman
John N. Irwin, II
Frank Y. Larkin
Royal Little
Otto Marx. Jr.
Cordelia Scaife May
David Hunter McAlpin
Charles W. Nichols. Jr.
Eustis Paine
Colin Phipps
Howard Phipps. Jr.
John H. Phipps
John Pierrepont
David Rockefeller
Laurance S. Rockefeller
Richard M. Scaife
David T. Schiff
John M. Schiff
Henry Sears
Chauncey D. Stillman
Joseph A. Thomas
Landon K. Thome, Jr.
Alice Tully
Lila Acheson Wallace
Robert Winthrop
Charlotte O. Wyman
Founders-in-Perpetuity
Mrs. Allerton Cushman
Mrs. William E. Strahl
Robert W. Wilson
Founders
Helen W. Buckner
Mrs. Bernard Gimbel
Mrs. Milo Waldes
Mrs. Robert Winthrop
Associate Founders
Linda Peyton
Patrons
Ostrom Enders
Darwin R. James, IV
Irving B. Kingsford
John S. Mcllhenny
New York Zoological Society
Balance Sheet
Year Ended December 31, 1975 with Comparative Totals for 1974
Assets Liabilities and Fund Balances
Current Funds
Unrestricted
1974
(1974)
1975
(Note 2)
1975
(Note 2)
Cash
$1,411,036
782.545
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
$ 314,717
400,766
Accounts receivable
128.377
370,056
Due to other funds, net
1,018,959
Pledges receivable
51.215
43,326
1 333 676
Inventories, at lower of cost or market
101.436
51,277
Fund balances:
Prepaid expenses and deferred charges
222,858
142,506
Designated by Board of Trustees for
Share of pooled investments designated for
long-term investment
6,423.349
6.541.825
long-term investment (Note 3)
6,423,349
6,541,825
Due from other funds, net
61,777
Undesignated
581,273
1,050,721
Total
$8,338,298
7,993,312
Total fund balances
7,004,622
7,592,546
Total
$8,338,298
7,993,312
Restricted
Cash
$ 44,438
30,150
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
$ 83,101
1,589
Accounts receivable
54,694
68,885
Support and revenue, designated for future
Grants receivable (Note 4)
869,552
1,008.347
periods
_
10.000
Pledges receivable
40.000
10.000
83 101
1 1 ,589
Inventories, at lower of cost or market
132,564
229.164
Prepaid expenses and deferred charges
12,294
20.124
Fund balances
1.679,061
1,515,522
Due from other funds, net
508,620
160.471
Total
$1,762,162
1,527,111
Total
$1,762,162
1,527,111
Land, Buildings, Animals and Equipment Funds
Cash
$ 28,014
10.839
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
$ 81,451
Investments (Note 3)
4,332,117
706,380
Due to other funds, net
205,586
Grants receivable (Note 4)
3,882.597
81,451
205,586
Pledges receivable
92,441
Fund balances:
Land, buildings, animals and equipment
Unexpended
4,819.758
4.486.67!
(Note 5)
6
6
Expended
6
6
Due from other funds, net
541,078
Total fund balances
4,819,764
4,486,677
Total
$4,901,215
4,692,263
Total
$4,901,215
4,692.263
Endowment Funds
Cash
$ 70.152
57,091
Due to other funds, net
$ 30,739
16.662
Note receivable
23,946
28,027
Investments (Note 3):
Fund balances:
Pooled
9,169,748
9,233,555
Endowment — income unrestricted
$2,889,211
2.836.522
Other
295,549
277,008
Endowment — income restricted
216,096
200.672
9,465,297
9,510,563
Total fund balance
3.105.307
3,037,194
Less portion attributable to other funds
6,423,349
6,541,825
Total
$3,136,046
3,053,856
3,041,948
2,968,738
Total
$3,136,046
3,053,856
See accompanying notes to financial statements
22
New York Zoological Society
Statement of Support. Revenue and Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balances
Year Ended December 31, 1975 with Comparative Totals for 1974
C urrent Funds
Unrestricted Restricted
Land.
Buildings.
Animals
and
Equipment
Funds
Endowment
Fund
Total all Funds
Public Support and Revenue:
Public support received directly:
Contributions
Contributions to land, buildings
J 948,875
Excess (deficiency I. public support and revenue
over expenditures before investment transactions
Realized gain (lossl on investment transactions, net
Excess (deficiency), public support and revenue
over expenditures
Other changes:
Transfer of visitor services and admissions net
income, under contractual agreements
Financing of prior years overexpenditure (Note 5)
Fund balances at beginning of year as restated
(Note 2)
Fund balances at end of year
See accompanying notes to financial statements
(10.396)
142,598
88.984
(809.1 10)
(720.1261
944.812
(681.273)
(100,000)
592.2X9
909.110
4.486.677 3.037.194
4.819,764 3,105.307
equipment fund
271.633
271.633
433.604
Total received directly
948.875
570.192
271.633
1 .790,700
1 .443.893
Fees and Grants from Governmental Agencies:
281,624
3,938,210
4,219.834
3.955.834
Other Revenue:
Membership dues
215 940
215 940
208 987
Visitor services and admissions revenue
3,335,162
3,335,162
3.412.413
Investment income
300.950
32,504
61.931
395.385
441.735
Recovery of indirect costs
87,007
(87,007)
-
-
-
-
Miscellaneous revenue
1 22,349
148,569
22.567
—
293.485
1 18.65""
Total other revenue
726.246
3.429,228
84.498
-
4.139.972
4.181,802
Total public support and revenue
1,956,745
7.937,630
356.131
10.250.506
9.581.529
ipenditures
Program Services:
Zoological Park and Aquarium exhibits
464.759
4,037.173
1.524.443
6,026.375
6.713,917
Separately budgeted research
276,410
227,531
503.941
431.489
Conservation and other public services
29,901
360.005
389.906
135.796
Public and professional education
383,478
332,587
716,065
739.033
Visitor services and admissions
1 .702,335
1,702.335
1 .675.646
Total program services
1.154.548
6.659.631
1.524.443
9,338.622
9.805.881
Supporting Services :
Management and general
752.968
302,778
1 ,055.746
1.049,720
Fundraising
59.625
30,409
90.034
47.335
Total supportive services
812.593
333.1X7
1,145.790
1.097,055
Total expenses
1.967.141
6.992.818
1.524,443
10.484.402
10.902.936
23
New York Zoological Society
Statement of Functional Expenditures
Year Ended December 31, 1975 with Comparative Totals for 1974
Program Services Supportin g Services Total Expenditures
Zoological
Type of
Expenditure
Park
and
Aquarium
Exhibits
Separately
Budgeted
Research
Conservation Public
and and
Public Professiona
Services Education
Services
and
Admissions Total
Managemen
and
General
Fund
Raising
Total
1975
1974
Awards and
grants $
—
170,655
_
_
170,655
—
-
170,655
126,187
Salaries, payroll
taxes and
employee
benefits
3,554,085
385.925
49,635
283,178
958,191
5,231,014
627,324
17,781
645,105
5,876,119
5,495,897
Professional fees
1,229
5,010
-
_
_
6,239
103,006
47,770
150,776
157,015
95,860
Supplies and
materials
736,383
16,493
_
27,431
279,532
1,059,839
33,584
33,584
1 ,093,423
1,029,615
Telephone and
telegraph
5,370
_
_
5,370
56,633
56,633
62,003
45,357
Postage and
shipping
350
_
_
_
350
15,609
6,922
22,531
22,881
8,963
Transportation/
mileage
1,974
325
_
587
_
2,886
1,426
147
1,573
4,459
3,381
Conferences,
conventions
and meetings
1 2,426
17,562
3 036
2 029
35 053
21,228
21,288
56,341
1 1 2,888
Subscriptions
and reference
publications
_
_
17,746
17,746
_
_
17,746
13,838
Public relations
and
promotion
106,302
106,302
34,292
34,292
140,594
325,089
Equipment, land.
buildings and
animals
1,524,443
1,524,443
6,603
6,603
1,531,046
2,306.436
Cost of goods
sold
422,906
422,906
422,906
480,509
Repairs and
rentals of
equipment
98,834
625
99,459
23,535
23,555
122,994
112.966
Publications
1 10,703
1 10,703
110,703
111,139
Other-
miscellaneous
97,001
72,281
166,580
168,089
41,706
545,657
132,446
17,414
149,860
695,517
634,881
Total $
6,026,375
503,941
389,906
716,065
1,702,335
9,338,622
1,055,746
90,034
1,145,780
10.484,402
10,902,936
See accompanying notes to financial statements
24
Notes To Financial Statements
December 31, 1975
1 1 1 Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
During the current year, the Society adopted
accounting and reporting policies which,
except for depreciation and carry ing value of
land, buildings, animals and equipment (see
note 5) are in accordance with the
American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants' industry audit guide. Audits of
Voluntary Health and Welfare
Organizations. Under the terms of that
Guide, the accounting policies followed by
the Society are:
lal The current unrestricted fund is used to
account for all resources over which the
Board of Trustees has discretionary
control except for amounts expended
for collections, animals, and equipment
which are carried at nominal value (see
note 5) and gains on endowment funds
(see note 3).
ibi Current restricted funds are used to
account for amounts restricted by
donors, or contractual agreement for
operating purposes and include income
from endowments restricted by the
donor for such purposes.
(c) Endowment funds represent the
principal of contributions to be
maintained intact in perpetuity and net
realized gains on investment
transactions of endowment funds.
(d) All gains and losses arising from the
sale, collection or other disposition of
investments and other noncash assets
are accounted for in the fund which
owned such assets. Income derived
from investments of endowment funds
is accounted for in the fund to which it
is restricted or. if unrestricted, as other
revenue in the current unrestricted
funds.
Other Policies
In accordance with contractual agreements
with the City of New York. Visitor Services
and Admissions net income shall be used for
the Society's working capital and to pay costs
and expenses incurred in performing its
obligations and conducting its operations
pursuant to the provisions of the contract.
Of such revenue and based upon such
restrictions, the Society transfers the
Aquarium net income to the Current
Unrestricted Funds and the balance to the
land, buildings, animals and equipment
funds.
Other significant accounting policies are set
forth in the financial statements and the
following notes.
i 2) Restatement of Fund Balances
In accordance with the requirements of the
industry audit guide, certain fund balances
have been reclassified from their designations
in previous years as follows:
Previous designation Current designation
Current funds
Land,
building,
animals
and Endowment
Current general fund
Current restricted funds
Land, buildings, animals
and equipment funds:
Unexpended
Expended
Endowment funds
Funds functioning as
endowment
Permanent wildlife
protection fund
Unrestricted
$ (922.012)
Restricted equipment funds
4.187,834
6
2.836.322
$ 7.392.546 1.313.322 4.486.677 3.037.194
(3) Investments
Investments are reflected at cost or fair
market value at the date of the gift. Market
value and unrealized appreciation
(depreciation) over the recorded value at
December 31, 1975 and 1974 are
summarized as follows:
December 31, 1975 December 31. 1974
Pooled investments:
Common stocks $
U.S. Government bonds
Corporate bonds
S
Comprised as follows:
Current unrestricted
Endowment
Quoted
market
value
Over
i under i
recorded
value
Quoted
market
value
Over
lunderl
recorded
value
5,931.914
1.098.258
1 ,658,436
(207.175)
(21.781)
(252.184)
5,064.079 (1.012.418)
1.156,248 (19.307)
1.603.795 ( 377.708)
8.688.
1481.140) 7.824.122 (1.409.433)
6.086.313
Z602.295
5.543.264
2,280.858
Nonpooled investments:
Land, buildings, animals
and equipment fund:
Short-term
investments
U.S. Government
bonds
Corporate bonds
S
Endowment funds:
Short term investments
Common stocks
U.S. Government bonds
Corporate bonds
$
1.763.799 10.069
1.434.941 (43,446)
19.681
340.986
72.072 28.459
205.037 1 ,856
47.224 (1,531)
1 25.000
69,675
79,223
45,147
(289)
160.4241
4.298.740 (33.377) 545.667 (160.713)
45.036
609
(3.608)
324.333
28.784 319.045 42.037
25
The New York State Not-for-Profit
Corporation Law which became effective on
September I. 1970 permits the use of realized
gains on investment transactions of
endowment funds. Such gains are currently
being added to principal but may be utilized
at the discretion of the Board of Trustees.
1 4) Grants Receivable
Grants receivable of the current restricted
and unexpended land, buildings, animals and
equipment funds represent amounts pledged
to the Society for certain operations and for
the completion of particular projects in future
years. The grants are expected to be collected
as expenditures for those projects are made
by the Society.
(5) Land, Buildings, Animals and Equipment
Expenditures for land, buildings, animals
and equipment have been charged to
current funds and to unexpended land,
buildings, animals and equipment funds and
have not been capitalized.
Such expenditures including, but not limited
to, the following are recorded in the land,
buildings, animals and equipment fund at
the nominal value of $6:
National collection of heads and horns, art
gallery, library and sundry items
Collection of living animals
Coney Island real estate
Land and buildings made available by the
City of New York
Equipment of v isitor services
The Society, in the construction of certain
capital projects during 1974 had expended
approximately $900,000 in excess of funds
restricted or designated for such projects.
The overexpenditure in the land, buildings,
animals and equipment fund was financed
by a transfer of current unrestricted funds
during 1975. The transfer will be repaid to
the current unrestricted fund from the net
income of the Skyfari at the rate of
$100,000 per year for nine years. During the
current year $100,000 was repaid.
lb) Commitments
The Society and the City of New York have
agreed to construct an aquarium, as funds
become available, at an estimated total cost
in 1954 (to be shared equally) of $7,100,000,
of which the initial stage (costing approx-
imately $1,550,000) was completed May 31,
1957.
The Society and the City of New York have
also agreed to construct a Tropical Asia
Exhibit, as funds become available, at an
estimated total cost of $12,000,000. As part
of the Exhibit, the Society contracted for
the construction of a monorail system at a
cost of $2,470,000. At December 31, 1975,
approximately $790,000 had been expended
under this contract.
(7) Pension Plan
As a result of an agreement among the
Society, the Cultural Institutions Retirement
System (CIRS) and the City of New York,
all active eligible full-time employees of the
Society became members of the CIRS
pension plan. Under this agreement: (a)
additional benefits are to be provided for
eligible Society employees by substituting
CIRS benefits beginning January 1, 1975 for
benefits previously accrued under the
Society's pension fund; (b) the City became
responsible for providing past service
benefits for City-supported employees; (c)
on October 1, 1975, the Society transferred
from its pension fund to CIRS
approximately $809,000 subject to approval
by Internal Revenue Service; such transfer
represented contributions received from the
pension fund's participants and past and
future service payments plus accrued
interest; (d) if such approval cannot be
obtained, there is provision for return of the
transfer subject to certain adjustments as
provided in the agreement.
During 1976, the Society purchased lump
sum annuities for current pensioners
covered by the Society's pension fund. The
assets of the pension fund approximated
$2,500,000 at December 31, 1975, including
marketable securities with a carrying value
of approximately $1,788,000 and market
value of approximately $2,075,000. Pension
expense was approximately $684,000
($396,000 in 1974) of which approximately
$371,000 ($210,000 in 1974) was financed by
an appropriation from the City of New
York. The current year's provision includes
amortization of prior service cost over a
period of 30 years commencing June 30,
1974. The Society's policy is to fund pension
cost accrued and no unfunded vested
benefits existed as of December 31. 1975.
In the opinion of management,
implementation of the provisions of the 1974
Pension Reform Act will not materially
affect pension expense or unfunded vested
benefits in future periods.
(81 The Society is the ultimate beneficiary under
a trust held by Community Funds, Inc. of New
York, New York. The income arising from
the investments of the principal sum is paid to
the Society for current restricted purposes.
Peat, Marwick. Mitchell & Co.
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
345 PARK AVENUE
NEW YORK. NEW YORK 10022
The Board of Trustees
New York Zoological Society:
We have examined the balance sheet of New
York Zoological Society as of December 31,
1975, and the related statements of support,
revenue and expenditures and changes in
fund balances, and of functional
expenditures for the year then ended. Our
examination was made in accordance with
generally accepted auditing standards, and
accordingly included such tests of the
accounting records and such other auditing
procedures as we considered necessary in
the circumstances.
As explained in note 5 to the financial
statement, land, buildings, animals and
equipment are carried at values other than
cost and depreciation of buildings and
equipment is not recorded. Such practices
are not in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles.
In our opinion, except for the basis of
valuation of land, buildings, animals and
equipment and the absence of depreciation,
as explained in the preceding paragraph, the
aforementioned financial statements present
fairly the financial position of New York
Zoological Society at December 31. 1975, and
the results of its operations for the year then
ended, in conformity with generally accepted
accounting principles applied on a basis
consistent with that of the preceding year,
after giving retroactive effect to the changes
in accounting, with which we concur,
resulting from the adoption of the American
Institute of Certified Public Accounts'
Voluntary Health and Welfare Organization
Industry Audit Guide as explained in note 2
to the financial statements.
tctt ">u~>— , y^ccttA*^£ fit*
26
This report was made possible by the
generosity of the S. J. Surnamer Company,
Inc.. printers, and Champion International.
The Trustees of the Society wish to express
their thanks for these extraordinary corporate
contributions.
Paper:
Champion Carnival Cover. Antique Finish,
Brown/65 lb.
Champion Carnival Groove, Persimmon/28lb.
Champion Carnival Offset. Putty /701b.
Photography:
Susan Abbott, p. 10
Kenneth Gold, p. 12
Paul Kovac, Cover, p. 6
William Meng, pp. 3, 6, 7, 8
George Schaller, pp. 16, 17
Design :
Robert Greenboam
27
The future and effectiveness of the Society's programs in wildlife conservation
and environmental education will depend to a large extent on the generosity
of its many members and friends. One of the most effective ways of providing
for the Society is through a bequest. If you wish to include a charitable
bequest provision in your will, the following form is suggested:
Form of Bequest
"I bequeathe to the New York
Zoological Society, Bronx, New York, for
its general purposes."
(To the extent provided by law, contributions to the Society are deductible for
Federal income and gift tax purposes. Bequests to the Society are deductible
for Federal estate tax purposes.)
For further information, contact:
Gregory Long
The New York Zoological Society
Bronx Zoo
Bronx, New York 10460
212-220-5090
28
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